Artifacts of Self-Determination: The Rise of the Raizal

Made At:

University of Toronto

Role:

Researcher, Writer, 3D Modeler, and Visualization Designer

When:

2017-2018

Project Details:

As part of the final thesis project for the Master of Architecture
program at the University of Toronto, I created a series of visual
representations to illustrate the speculative formation of a new
micronation
for the
Raizal community
in the archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina. This
project received the
Kuwabara-Jackman Architecture Thesis Gold Medal
for best thesis project and it got selected by
KooZA/rch
for an interview and feature in their platform.

The Raizals: A Brief History

The Raizals — a Creole-speaking people of Afro-Caribbean and
British descent — have occupied the Archipelago of San Andres
for centuries. Situated at the maritime border between Nicaragua
and Colombia, the archipelago consists of two island groups and
eight outlying banks, cays, and atolls.

The archipelago has been part of Colombia since 1822 but for the
last century it has been a highly contested territory between
nations — most notably between Colombia and Nicaragua. These
disputes have caused generations of negligence and disregard for
the Raizals' presence.

In 2012, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued a
ruling that drastically altered the maritime borders in the
archipelago. The fight between Managua and Bogotá over the Raizals
territory created a series of inconvenient divisions in the place
that they have always known, related to, and understood.

The Raizals have lost their freedom to visit and operate in places
that they have known to for centuries. Even though these
territorial divisions are merely a series of dotted lines
illustrated on maps, without a tangible physical presence, they
are enforced and affect the Raizals' autonomy and displacement in
their waters.

These debates between nations have ignored the fact that the
archipelago is a network of islands, banks, cays, and other atolls
that act as one connected system. It is time for the Raizals to
claim the Archipelago of San Andres as their own and display their
presence for the world to see.

The Raizals fear that the Nicaraguan military will take away their boats
on the way to the northern cays and have stopped their fishing
activities in places they have always known, related to, and understood.

The disrespect for their traditions, harm to their environment, and lack
of acknowledgement of their presence have been tolerated for long
enough. The rise of an independent nation is unfolding. Through a
constellation of fragmented narratives, this project seeks to speculate
on the journey of the Raizals as they move towards the realization of
their own sovereignty.

Using the rationale of micronations, the establishment of the
Archipelago of San Andres unfolds in a defined, self-proclaimed place
whose boundaries, independence and recognition exist as both fact and
fiction. Micronations convey narratives of sovereignty that are
unacknowledged by formal states, but for the inhabitants that reside
within their borders, they are very real. These narratives materialize
in the physical world, giving them a presence even for non-believers to
see. A micronation is not a place that belongs to its surroundings, but
it is nonetheless in the location best-suited to it. It is a response to
its inhabitants’ desires for independence, differentiation, and
autonomy. Their howls for a recognition of their dissimilarity from
their surroundings are translated into elements that represent their own
fictions.

When a border only exists on paper without a tangible physical presence,
its perception, existence, and reality become uncertain.

Through iterative graphic explorations, this project aims to question
how architectural forms act as a medium through which the physical
manifestation of self-determination can be explored for the Raizals. In
conjunction with the non-architectural symbolic elements, built
structures can be seen, used, and associated with a sense of autonomy
and belonging.

Using anti-counterfeit hatching techniques, these images intend to
represent a sense of authority, which the Raizals might believe in and
trust.

scroll to control animation

Drawing Process

The illustrations were used to create posters, currency bills, passports
and postage stamps, which were displayed in conjunction to a series of
artifacts and models during the final presentation exhibition.